Through the looking glass : the influence of consumption and affect on product placement in movies

Product placement is a promotional device that is now being used by a lot of companies. In this research the different types of product placement and affect are investigated and differences in effectiveness are hypothesized. Effectiveness is expected to significantly discriminate for the type of product placement that was used in a movie that was presented to participants; active product placement was expected to be the most effective means of placement. An interaction effect for affect and active product placement was also expected. Partipants‟ implicit and explicit attitudes were measured before and after they were prestented with a short movie in which the manipulations were embedded. Consumption behavior was thereafter also measured by offering the participants a selection of candy bars. It was found that product placement is effective in promoting an alternative brand, as opposed to the brand that was used as product placement. When taking into account the rated attractiveness of the actors by the participants, this effect was found to be even stronger. The hypothesized effects for affect were not found and it is speculated that this may be due to a difference between emotions and moods. Ultimately, product placement as a means of promotion are reaffirmed, but the implementation thereof is put up for discussion. Future research is therefore also recommended to focus specifically on the implementation of the product placements.